Bella Thorne has said that she and her "Shake It Off" co-star Zendaya were deliberately pitted against each other during the height of their Disney Channel fame, straining what was meant to be a close friendship. Speaking on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Thorne linked the rivalry to broader industry patterns that pressure young women to compete for limited opportunities rather than support one another, describing the toll it took on their relationship as teenagers working together.

Thorne and Zendaya starred as best friends CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue on "Shake It Up", which aired for three seasons and 75 episodes between 2010 and 2013. Thorne recounted that tensions became so severe that, during a "Good Luck Charlie" crossover shoot, the pair secretly left set mid-taping to talk things through privately, calling the exchange one of the most genuine conversations she has had with another woman. Both actors have previously acknowledged, including in a 2021 interview Thorne gave to Us Weekly, that being pitted against each other affected their friendship in the show's first season.